Ever had a male colleague explain your own job to you? 🙃 Let me tell you about the time I sat through a 20-minute lecture about “basic marketing funnels” from someone who’d just discovered HubSpot’s free trial. Spoiler: I’d literally written the company’s funnel strategy. But did I interrupt? Nope. I did what women do best—smiled politely while screaming internally.
Here’s what I’ve learned climbing from junior copywriter to director in 6 years: Our biggest career roadblocks aren’t glass ceilings. They’re the invisible scripts telling us to play small. Let’s unpack three counterintuitive moves that actually work.
1️⃣ The Power Play of Strategic Interruption
We’ve all heard “wait your turn” since kindergarten show-and-tell. But research from Stanford shows women who politely interrupt conversations get rated as 14% more competent than those who wait. My game-changer? The phrase “Building on that…” – it’s interruption with teamwork vibes. Last quarter, I used this to pivot a client meeting from disaster to $500K upsell. Pro tip: Practice interrupting your Netflix shows first. If you can talk over Stranger Things’ demobats, you can handle Todd from accounting.
2️⃣ Networking ≠ Schmoozing (It’s Way Darker)
Real talk: 85% of jobs are filled through personal connections (LinkedIn data), but “networking” feels icky. My solution? Weaponized curiosity. Instead of forced coffee chats, I started asking industry strangers one bizarre question weekly. Example: “What’s the most unhinged client request you’ve ever received?” Turns out the CMO of a major skincare brand once had to explain why snail mucus doesn’t actually make you look 12. We’re now collaborating on a leadership panel. Moral: Shared trauma bonds faster than LinkedIn endorsements.
3️⃣ The Promotion Paradox
Harvard Business Review found women apply for roles only when meeting 100% qualifications vs men’s 60%. But here’s the twist: I got promoted after failing spectacularly at a stretch project. How? Documented the disaster like a crime scene. Sent my boss a breakdown titled “7 Ways This Went Wrong (And 12 Things I’ll Do Differently).” Got promoted for “demonstrating strategic recovery skills” – corporate code for “we trust you not to panic next time.”
The secret sauce? Stop trying to be flawless. Be strategically messy. Leave evidence of how you fix problems, not just avoid them.
Final thought: Last week, a Gen Z intern told me my Zoom background looked “distractingly competent.” Best compliment ever. Your career isn’t a ladder—it’s a jungle gym where sometimes you have to swing past a few bros named Chad to reach the good stuff. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go interrupt someone’s PowerPoint presentation. 💼✨